‘Baby - Dumping’ issues in Malaysia

    Our country unmarried teenage pregnancies has a chronic increase recently and many young mums to be are estranged from their families. As a muslim, we believe that child is a priceless gift from Allah SWT. However, lately the baby dumping cases happen almost every day. Teenage parents give birth in a motel room and leave the child for dead in a garbage. A girl gives birth in a school bathroom at night and throws the baby into the garbage. These stories relate to one of the most frightening realities of our culture today. 

Credit to actforamerica.worldpress.com

     How could this problem keep on happening? There are many factors that cause this problem continuously occurring in Malaysian society. Lifestyle of teenagers itself, for example when they are in campus or in college, the teenagers are free act  without parent’s control. Some of them date and try to do something as couple. Sometimes they can make ‘‘something’’ out of their mind in which turning out to be out of their own expectation. Just start with going out for a dinner by riding the same vehicle together. If it is just for a dinner, then there is no problem. But if the dinner’s over and they’re still together alone in a car, then that is not right and ‘something’ bad can happen. Perhaps that ‘’something’’ can be call it as sumbang mahram or zina in Malay Language.

unsafe relationship could lead to unhealthy sex and
the birth of baby before marriage. (Picture credit to news.asiaone.com)

     Every boy and girl has to know their limitation of relationship. Parents should play their role in order to prevent their own children from social problem. Parents should give awareness about the dangerous of baby dumping, introduce true Islam to the children especially to the muslim youth about halal and haram in opposite sex relationship.

      Besides that, by celebrating New Year’s Day and Valentine’s Day are also the factors of baby dumping to happen. Most of the teenagers were easily cajoled into having unmarried sex because they were naïve. During the New Year celebration and Valentine Day celebration, many of teenage girls cheated by their boyfriends, saying that they had to prove their love to their boyfriends by having sex together. As a naïve teenager of course they will do and give everything for their sweetheart without thinking about the sins and problem that might be happening in the future.
     Once the teenagers find themselves pregnant, they are about to fend for themselves, and they became estranged from their family after they know about the pregnancy. Thus, causes the young mums to be scared in dealing with feelings of fear, anger, disappointment and confusion, therefore they take the easiest and fastest way out by abandon or worse, by killing the baby (abortion, baby dumping).

Act of baby dumping should be stopped to avoid the lost of
innocent new life. (Photo credits to mahaguru58.blogspot.com)

      The social stigma attached to premarital pregnancies forces them to conceal and abandon the babies, leading to horrifying deaths. As long as society refuses to accept reality, baby dumping will continue to be a social whip in our country. Parents have to be more open and supportive to help their girls manage their pregnancies. This should not be viewed as condoning premarital sex. There is indeed a need for change of mindset and the way of managing something in which had been done, in this case the premarital sex.

      On top of that, the widespread access to porn and weakened family ties also has a link to the baby dumping. Effects from globalization nowadays, youth today can easily have access to pornography online, even through their mobile phones. The parents should play a role in controlling their children’s activities inside and outside of the house. They should know their children going out with whom and where did they go in order to avoid their children from unhealthy activities and involve with social problem.

     Poverty is also another factor that causes child dumping. Poor social welfare systems, not capable to pay the medical bills and not financially capable of taking care of a child are more likely the factors to dump the baby. Political conditions, such as difficulty in adoption proceedings, may also contribute to child dumping. “Having one’s first child is the most stressful experience someone can go through. Young mothers can be vulnerable, especially if they are alone and do not have the experience or social support to cope.”-Dr Boulton, a child psychologist at the University of Keele.

       Effects of baby dumping are on individuals itself, the baby and society. On infants, it will give a problem cause contempt regarded by society as adults, problems if you want to marry because there is no guardian and it will difficult for schools because there is no birth registration. It may effects on society too. The abortion will be mimicked by others. On individuals, it can cause psychological effects on the mental and emotions after marriage, such as depression, especially when age is often thought of as the content is never removed.

     The government, families, and communities should take the role to overcome the baby dumping problem. There are no easy solutions, and so we are required to expand our efforts to reach prevention at a standstill. Steps must be taken to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

      Sexuality education, for example the Ministry of Education agreed to implement a sex education. Recommends communities provide comprehensive sexuality education to youths and families. Education should strive to increase communication among youth, families, and communities thus, can minimize the shame on unwanted pregnancy and make young people want to take advantage off supports and services in their families and communities.

       Campaign towards the regions and categories of population with focus on the prevention programs increased risks of dumping. For example in 2001, Malaysia launched the “Say Yes for Children” campaign to create awareness on the protection of children. The campaign was aimed at creating a conducive and enabling environment for children to grow up. It was built on 10 imperative actions and responsibilities, which are:

LEAVE no child out

PUT children first

CARE for every child

FIGHT HIV/AIDS

STOP harming and exploiting children

LISTEN to children

EDUCATE every child

PROTECT children from war

PROTECT the earth for children and

FIGHT poverty and invest in children.

Say Yes for Children Campaign. (credit to www.sgm.org.my)

        “To love children is to respect them. The children in turn will grow up and respect their parents in appreciation for what has been done”(Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, Vice chairman Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation, 2012). Therefore for the parents to be respect by their children parents should acquire parenting skills to bring up their children. They should make every possible effort to spend quality time with their children, thus can prevent from social problem among teenagers when the children growing up.

         On top of that, communities and government should provide shelters to unwanted pregnancies women or teenagers in order to help them, give them a second chance at life and give their babies the right to live. For instance in Gombak, there is a house for pregnant teenagers who have nowhere else to turn called Kem Asas Pembangunan Integriti Wanita dan Modal Insan (KEWAJA). When a teenager gets pregnant, she starts thinking of the worst case scenario. She starts wondering ‘who wants me?’, ‘how do I keep this a secret?’. Therefore KEWAJA is here with role to ensure adolescent girl and woman which involved in assignable guidance and life guidance that they practise good values in their life, have personal strength, mind and faith to survive and can monitor activity during and their direction of life inside societal community (Yahya Yusof, KEWAJA DIRECTOR,2011).

          The thing that more important is KEWAJA can save them from act that risky such as abortion and perhaps also dump or leave the child after born.

          In Conclusion, we can’t point our finger to anyone we want, but this time we have to examine the best solution to reducing this social problem together.

“Having sex after marriage is safer and it can reduce the abortion and baby dumping rate. It also helps us be more responsible and not to have sex just to satisfy our lust”.

(photo credit: stop-baby-dumping.blogspot.com)